512-120 Introductory Experimental Psychology 1

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject comprises four units.

Behavioural neuroscience addresses issues relating to how biology underlies and influences behaviour. Specific areas include basic brain and nervous system structure and function; behaviour genetics; how vision, hearing, touch and pain are processed; the roles of sleep and dreams; and biological theories of mental illness.

Learning and cognition provides an introduction to the experimental study of higher cognitive processes, such as attention, recognition, memory, learning, language, and reasoning. Key theoretical advances and research in a range of cognitive domains will be surveyed, and students will also be provided with a general framework for their integration. Aspects of cognitive development and cognitive impairment will also be considered.

Perception provides an introduction to sensation and perception, with an emphasis on the visual system as a model perceptual system. Specific topics include examination of the functional properties of sensory systems (e.g. auditory system, colour vision, touch and kinaesthenia); phenomenology of sensation and perception; psychophysical limits of perceptual systems; goals of sensory coding; structure and evolution of sensory systems; and computational models of visual perception.

Introduction to research design and descriptive statistics is taught in the laboratory program, and covers methods for collecting and describing data. Specific issues include the design of experiments to test propositions about human behaviour; tools for describing how data are distributed; an introduction to the concept of probability; and techniques for sampling data from populations.

Assessment

An examination of not more than 2 hours comprising 105 multiple choice questions and covering all four components of the subject (75%).

Laboratory report or essay of not more than 2000 words (25%).

Participation in 3 hours of experimental work and attendance at 80% or more of laboratory classes (hurdle requirement). In the event that the hurdle requirement is not met, additional work will be required before a passing mark can be awarded.